𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐘𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇 ── harry potter

xiii | follow the spiders

ACT II — CHAPTER XIII
Fᴏʟʟᴏᴡ Tʜᴇ Sᴘɪᴅᴇʀs

⊱ ────── 𖥔 ✶ 𖥔 ────── ⊰

Summer was just around the corner at Hogwarts. The sky and lake both turned into a wonderful shade of blue and flowers as large as cabbages burst into bloom in the greenhouse.

But this turning of spring to summer was not a happy one. Quinn found herself without a Hufflepuff to study with and without a Gryffindor to nag her about not sticking to the study schedule that said Gryffindor had made for her. There were no afternoon teas with too-hard rock cakes in the hut of the tallest groundskeeper alive. Things were not as they should be.

With Dumbledore gone, fear had spread like a wild fire, so that the sun warming the castle walls outside seemed to stop at the mullioned windows. There was barely a face to be seen in the school that didn't look worried and tense, and any laughter that rang through the corridors sounded shrill and unnatural and was quickly stifled.

Quinn often found herself thinking about the last thing Hagrid said, to "follow the spiders". She remembered seeing the trail of spiders leaving the castle after the attack on Mrs. Norris and noting how odd they acted. She looked for them everywhere she went, always keeping an eye out, but it seemed that all of the spiders in the school had vacated long ago. At least Morag would be pleased to hear that.

It had been difficult for Quinn to see Harry and Ron, due to the fact that they couldn't go anywhere without a teacher as an escort, and they were forbidden from going anywhere except their classes, the Great Hall, and their common rooms. She often ate her meals with them, whether they would come and sit at the Ravenclaw table or she would go and sit at the Gryffindor table, and they had made it so they sat together in every class they could. They also exchanged letters between Ravenclaw Tower and Gryffindor Tower, with the help of Hedwig.

As the days went by, Quinn found them becoming harder to get through. She missed her friends dearly. Every day that she woke up and was met with the disappointment that her friends were still stuck in states of fear just filled her with more dread. Quinn was in an unbearable state, and she felt as though she hadn't felt a drop of happiness for weeks. She was starting to think that she should've stayed home after Easter like her mothers had suggested.

It had been nearly three weeks since Hermione's attack, and Quinn found herself stuck in Herbology, where Justin's empty spot at the Train Gang's tray just reminded her that he was gone.

Professor Sprout set them all to work pruning Abyssinian Shrivelfigs. Quinn went to dump an armful of stalks onto the compost heap when she found herself face-to-face with Ernie Macmillan. Quinn sighed, preparing for a ramble about how evil Harry was for Petrifying his own friend.

However, that is not what Ernie did. In fact, he did something that really surprised her. He took a deep breath and said, very formally, "Quinn, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for being so rude. I know now that it was wrong of me to suspect Harry, since he'd never attack Hermione Granger. I apologize for all the stuff I said, like you being brainwashed and all. We're all in the same boat now, and —"

"How are we all in the same boat, Ernie?" Quinn asked, narrowing her eyes, "I have lost two friends, you have lost one. You were able to talk to the one friend you lost, while I could not because a moron filled his head with delusions. Now, when he wakes up, if he even does, he will still hate me because of ideas put in his head, by you. So, tell me, Ernie, how are we all in the same boat?"

Ernie stared at her, dumbfounded.

"Do you think that I would be anywhere near Harry, let alone be friends with him, if I even had an inkling that he hurt Justin?" Quinn continued, "Do you really think that poorly of me?"